DIY residency

1. Set up rules to dictate the layout of each grid within a matrix
2. Format – make grids smaller or larger
3. Rules – research into how other artists before have explored rules or system based art – or generative.

After my art residency, I travelled to Athens to meet my wife. We wandered around the city and found a giant meat market in Athens. I felt quite nauseous, and it made a good subject to draw. A few days ago in Chania they had a “Meat Thursday” where people are offered barbecued meat for free, all over town. I took the title from this.

I’ve decided I’m going to try to show 16 works, and this means I need to make another 4. I think I have enough time before the show, if I try to make one per day. Here’s one I did today:

I’m off to visit the gallery space today, to work out where to put my work. Here’s some info on the show, and also a rough sketch of the sort of thing I’m planning …

I finished the grid drawings, packed up, and took a week holiday in Athens.

I feel I’ve had a very productive time in Crete, for the duration of the DIY residency. Looking back I really got into the zone, and focused intensely on my work, which is what I always need to do, otherwise I dont do good work. So this whole period, feeling quite lonely at the start, became a very productive period.

A key aspect was the deadline – I had to get the work done before I left the rental apartment. I had no choice but to get my head down. Deadlines really help!

Coming back home, I hope I can keep some of the same focus, but I somehow doubt it, as I live in a small house full of people! I know I need to find an affordable studio space, but in London this isnt easy.

In Athens we visited Greece’s national museum of contemporary art, EMST https://www.emst.gr/en

Some of the exhibits there made me think about how to display the grid work in the gallery space …

The matrix of paintings have been pinned to the wall – using drawing pins. This works fine for this work, but obscures some of the images. As my works are quite detailed, and often have text, I cant use drawing pins as they will obscure.

The other example I found interesting is pottery nailed to the wall, but the nails just touch the sides of the work, to hold it in place. I think this is probably the way to go.

I thought a lot about the format for the display, and if I should use frames. In the end I decided against, and to mount each drawing on cardboard. I thought this would fit better with the theme of the show, Clutter, which is a scruffy theme, and I expect quite a few of the works will involve a mess. So framed works … I dont think they fit with this.